Today we’d like to introduce you to Vincenzo de Leon.
Hi Vincenzo, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’m an up-and-coming solo artist going by the stage name Vince’nt. The name comes from my real name “Vincenzo,” but growing up in Penang, Malaysia, people weren’t accustomed to the Italian version of the name, so a lot of the older folks went with “Vincent” most of the time. This used to bother me, as well as being called “Vinnie” or even “Victor,” but now I quite like the fluidity of identity.
My art follows that same philosophy too; I wouldn’t be able to categorize all of my work into a narrow range of genres because, even just as Vince’nt, my (existing and upcoming) releases span multiple genres. The goal is to use whatever artistic style fits the narrative I’m trying to tell best, being completely true to the story behind the song, and dealing with the logistics of it all afterward.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Discovering my identity was a strange one. My environment growing up was very conservative, so I grew up with strict values that I upheld, whether it was regarding art or social politics. I was what the community calls an elitist, and I had the notion that Pop music was objectively lesser than genres like Classical, Jazz or Metal. To be quite honest, I was also kind of a bigot in my social values. I wouldn’t say it was hard getting to where I am, but learning about the wider world than just my small bubble back home and having then to wrestle with the fact that all I believed in was either incomplete, misguided or just straight up wrong, that really shook me for a while.
But as shocking as it was, I was also relieved. Suddenly the crush I had in high school wasn’t an abomination; the guilty pleasure EDM song was artistic gold. I started allowing myself to learn more about the world around me and found myself resonating with a lot of it. I haven’t forgone my roots in Classical, Jazz, or Metal music. In fact, you’ll hear some of these in my Vince’nt projects. But just like with the names I let people call me, I’m more fluid with what musical avenue I dive into.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a storyteller, I just so happen to use music as my medium. I try to stay as genuine as possible, and when I don’t tell personal stories, I try to emulate the sincerity you’d find. But the thing, I would say, that sets me apart from others is my background in orchestral and progressive metal composition. It’s allowed me to imbue a certain niche into my songs in a way that I’ve been aching for but have not yet found in existing artists. Plus, if I garner some reputation and credibility, I want to bring my music back home to Malaysia in hopes to influence the younger generations to lose some of that conservatism that was so dangerous to the victimized groups and to myself. I remember saying to my brother just the other day, “I’m going to be an LGBTQ+ menace when I go back,” and as fun of a statement as it was to make, I was low-key being dead serious. There’s a good number of artists doing good advocacy work back home, but the pushback is strong so we need everyone we can get!
Any big plans?
In the immediate future? Definitely to stay in LA, or at least in the US. Unfortunately, the musical scene is not as booming back home as it is here, so selfishly I think I need to stay for a while longer to build up my portfolio. But bringing something all the things I’ve learnt, developed, etc. back home is definitely a huge part of my mission. As I mentioned before, the social justice advocacy, but also more musical literacy, and developing arts programs all things that I need both credibility and money to do, which I have none of either just yet. But one day! It’s very heartwarming to see a lot of new talents rise in Malaysia, and that the older folk are graciously incorporating a lot of them, but there’s still a whole world out there for us to discover, and I’d love to discover all that together. Who knows, maybe I’ll start a grupo de merengue in Penang when I’m 45! I’d vibe with that.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vince.deleon66/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vince.deleon66/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincenzodeleon/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdIVymGRViWAiyY4jNF3qWg
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4dFMqLDzLry3XTYgeSFg2i?si=emTCjZjyS0KeAsSyOaondQ
Image Credits
Sonia Jahng; Fish Fang
